| PowerNerd | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 25, 2024 | |||
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| Genre | Progressive metal | |||
| Length | 44:04 | |||
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| Producer | Devin Townsend | |||
| Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
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| Singles from PowerNerd | ||||
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PowerNerd is the twenty-second studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend. It was released on October 25, 2024, through Inside Out Music and HevyDevy Records. [1]
About the album's title, Devin Townsend commented "I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power." [2] Townsend reportedly gave himself only 11 days to write the entire album, and 1 day to rehearse it. [3] [4] [5]
According to Townsend, of all the albums he's ever made, PowerNerd was "[the] most fraught with unexpected sidelines": [6] The album was originally meant to feature Eloy Casagrande on drums, Mike Inez on bass, and Wes Hauch on guitar; unfortunately, by the time of recording, Casagrande has joined Slipknot, Inez began touring with Elton John, and Hauch went on tour with Alluvial. [6] Additionaly, Townsend was hoping to outsource mixing the album as well, but that fell through due to scheduling as well. [6] Drums for the album were ultimately done by Darby Todd, who learned and recorded all his drums in a single day. [7]
The album has been described as progressive metal. [8] [9] Some critics noted that the album had a simpler, more accessible sound compared to Townsend's previous albums. [10]
PowerNerd received positive reviews from music critics upon release. Jordan Blum, writing for Metal Injection , gave the album a score of 9/10 and wrote "Without a doubt, Townsend still gets tons of mileage out of the uniquely philosophical and musical worlds he's crafted, making PowerNerd another superbly entertaining and intellectually, emotionally fulfilling addition to his catalog." [3] Kerrang! awarded it a score of 3/5 and stated "If you’re looking for divisive, multi-toned prog metal you’ll find little of that here – closer Ruby Quaker has a tongue-in-cheek blast therein – but should you appreciate the less eccentric side of this polymath’s output, plug in and power up." [10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "PowerNerd" | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Falling Apart" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Knuckledragger" | 4:30 |
| 4. | "Gratitude" | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Dreams of Light" | 0:54 |
| 6. | "Ubelia" | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Jainism" | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Younger Lover" | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Glacier" | 4:22 |
| 10. | "Goodbye" | 5:58 |
| 11. | "Ruby Quaker" | 4:32 |
| Total length: | 44:04 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Flow" (Demo) | 8:02 |
| 13. | "Trustfxxx" (Demo) | 8:17 |
| 14. | "Vast" (Demo) | 9:44 |
| Total length: | 70:07 | |
Musicians
Technical
Visuals
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] | 187 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [13] | 57 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [14] | 15 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [15] | 32 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] | 28 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] | 18 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC) [18] | 21 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [19] | 4 |
Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 29 albums across all of his projects as of 2024.
Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.
Alien is the fourth studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on March 22, 2005. The album was written by Devin Townsend and Gene Hoglan over a six-month time period. The album reached No. 32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.
Infinity is the third solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first released under his real name. The album was released in October 1998 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Physicist is the fourth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on June 26, 2000, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Ocean Machine: Biomech is the second studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, originally released as Biomech under the name Ocean Machine. The album was released in July 1997 via Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Ziltoid the Omniscient is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Addicted is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on November 17, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album was written and produced by Townsend, and features Ryan Van Poederooyen, Brian Waddell, Mark Cimino, and Anneke van Giersbergen.
Epicloud is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the fifth album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on September 18, 2012, in North America, and September 24, 2012, in Europe, through his independent record label HevyDevy Records and Inside Out Music.
Z² is a double album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend and his musical project Devin Townsend Project, released on October 27, 2014. It consists of two albums released together: the sixth album in the Devin Townsend Project series, the rock-oriented Sky Blue, and Dark Matters, a solo metal concept album acting as a sequel to Townsend's 2007 album Ziltoid the Omniscient. The main theme of Dark Matters is, according to Townsend, "Ziltoid against the world".
Haven is the eleventh studio album by American power metal band Kamelot, released in North America on May 5, 2015 and world-wide on May 8. The album is produced by Sascha Paeth and mastered by Jacob Hansen. The cover and artwork were created by Stefan Heilemann and the additional art/layout were done by Gustavo Sazes. It features guest appearances by Alissa White-Gluz, Troy Donockley and Charlotte Wessels. It is also the band's first album with Napalm Records.
Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016, via HevyDevy Records.
Empath is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on March 29, 2019. It is his first solo album since Dark Matters, which was a part of the 2014 double album Z², and his first release to act solely as a solo album since 2007's Ziltoid the Omniscient.
Extreme Power Metal is the eighth studio album by British power metal band DragonForce, released on 27 September 2019. It is the band's last studio album to feature longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq and the first not to feature longtime keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, who left the band in 2018; Epica keyboardist Coen Janssen recorded keyboards for the album as a session member. The lead single "Highway to Oblivion" was released on 30 July 2019. The band embarked on a world tour in support of the album following its release. Music videos for "Troopers of the Stars" and "Strangers" were filmed, but not released until two years later, on 27 August 2021 and 25 October 2021, respectively. In 2022, the band continued touring the album after their last tour's cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 November 2022, the music video for "The Last Dragonborn" was released, being the first music video with new bassist Alicia Vigil.
The Puzzle and Snuggles are the nineteenth and the twentieth studio albums by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on December 3, 2021.
Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases. Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.
